CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — In 2024, 6 Investigates tackled concerns about how taxpayer money is being spent, dug into the final hours leading up to a woman's death in jail, investigated a candidate for school board, and exposed overcharging by one tow company.
That KRIS 6 News investigative team digs deep to make sure the stories we bring you are the ones that bring the change you want to see. Here are some of those top stories in 2024.
City of Taft, Texas:
Claims of excessive overtime by Police Chief John Landreth initiated an investigation into the City of Taft in 2024.
“City Hall, basically three people, have expended the overtime, budgeted overtime, that is budgeted for the entire city,” Landreth told KRIS 6 News in May.
He began by reviewing timesheets for all city employees over a two-month period. After notifying several department heads of his findings, he opened a criminal investigation.
Landreth turned to 6 Investigates after his claims to those departments were ignored.
“No, I don’t think it was a big deal to them. Even though they are not budgeted overtime and it was not a small amount of money, it was a large amount of money," he said.
Former City Secretary Andrea Gomez was logging between 15 and 90 hours of overtime every two weeks, but social media posts, now deleted, revealed that several of those hours were spent at sporting events.
Gomez was arrested and charged with four second-degree felony counts of tampering with a government record with intent to defraud. She was later indicted in September. However, Landreth was placed on a 30-day unpaid suspension by then-City Manager Kandi Hubert for speaking with KRIS 6 News.
A motion to fire Landreth failed, and Hubert resigned in June, allowing Landreth to return to work.
In October, former Finance Director LeeAnn Goben resigned following reports of misused funds. 6 Investigates discovered that Goben had misused at least $30,000 in taxpayer money on personal expenses, a figure significantly higher than the initially estimated $1,000.
Speaking with Landreth, the amount spent by Goben uncovered a total of $50,000 to $80,000 in misappropriated funds.
Following the initial report, community members demanded accountability from City Hall. Despite this, Landreth’s employment was once again put to a City Council vote. The motion to fire him failed.
Goben has been charged with of eight counts of tampering with a governmental record with intent to defraud. Hubert has been charged with official oppression, and Gomez faces four additional counts of tampering with a governmental record with intent to defraud.
SEE ALSO: INVESTIGATION: Taft water meter project
City of Corpus Christi, Texas:
6 Investigates began examining public funds awarded to developers of the Homewood Suites by Hilton in April after receiving an audio recording involving Corpus Christi City Manager Peter Zanoni and a competing hotel owner, as well as related text messages and emails.
A public information request to verify the authenticity of these materials resulted in missed deadlines by the city.
As the city developed its annual budget, employees reached out to 6 Investigates, urging an examination of money spent by top city executives on food and entertainment.
Within a month of requesting public documents, Zanoni changed the city’s purchasing card policy.
Between Sept. 1, 2023, and July 30, 2024, the city’s fifth floor spent more than $44,000 at local restaurants, including:
• Yacht Club, $13,053.44
• Aka Sushi, $1,794.75
• Koi Sushi, $3,147.04
• Vietnam, $2,290.80
• Katz 21, $2,555.00
Zanoni justified these expenditures, stating they were primarily for staff working through meals.
The city also funded the free fitness initiative, Safe Fun Fit, a weekly event that has cost taxpayers more than $200,000 over four years.
Although marketed as a city event, most payments related to Safe Fun Fit went to Victor Betancourt, owner of V-Fit Training Center. Betancourt was listed as the sole vendor on hundreds of invoices and received a $480 weekly “consulting and management” fee—even when classes were canceled. Of the more than 40 canceled classes, only four did not have a corresponding fee payment.
6 Investigates made multiple attempts to speak with Betancourt and requested an interview with Zanoni, citing their apparent relationship. Betancourt did not respond, but the city provided a statement:
Safe Fun-Fit at the Bayfront is the longest-running free community health and wellness program in Texas. The innovative project was created during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide citizens with a safe way to exercise weekly. To date, there have been over 16 thousand participants.
The City of Corpus Christi outsources the management of this program and the annual Endurance Fest to a third-party partner. As is the case with all third-party partnerships, the City monitors the program's performance to ensure that the services meet the required standards and deliver value to the community.
City of Robstown, Texas:
In July, Galvan Towing drew the attention of 6 Investigates after allegedly overcharging a KRIS 6 News intern.
The intern provided documents and recordings of her interactions with the company. Another victim, who requested anonymity, shared a similar experience, citing excessive towing and storage fees.
“He started at $425 just for storage of her vehicle being there, and on top of that, he wanted us to pay $125 to tow it away because he stated that the vehicle was not drivable. He said it needed to be towed away,” she said.
The victim added that the owner, Israel “J.R.” Galvan, claimed her car was totaled and suggested it would cost at least $2,500, encouraging her to leave it at the tow yard. This turned out to be untrue.
According to a Robstown city ordinance, tow trucks are allowed to charge only $150 for towing stolen vehicles and $5 per day for storage fees.
In December, Galvan was arrested and charged with two counts of theft of property.
6 Investigates also turned its focus to the Robstown school board election.
The investigation revealed that Gilbert Cervantes, a candidate for the district’s Place 4 trustee seat, was a five-time convicted felon. Cervantes falsely certified on his application that he had not been convicted of a felony.
The Texas Election Code and Texas Education Code require school board candidates to be free of unpardoned felony convictions and to be a registered voter in the district before the filing deadline. Cervantes failed both requirements.
Following the report, the school board voted unanimously to declare Cervantes ineligible, ensuring votes cast for him would not be counted.
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER INVESTIGATIONS IN YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS THIS YEAR:
Teen who posed as a physician assistant headed to prison
DYING FOR HELP: Falfurrias woman dies while in custody of Kleberg County Sheriff's Office
CORPUS CHRISTI LITTLE LEAGUE THEFT: Former district treasurer under investigation
Nursing Home Neglect: Patient calls 911 after being neglected health care inside Pelican Pointe
First-hand accounts detail potential violations, neglect by local animal rescue
INVESTIGATION: Ingleside City Manager had public meeting audio altered
Mistake from DA's Office reveals TABC report from fatal Harbor Bridge crash
